MOUNTAINOUS achievements were on show in the Carneddau, while Denbigh Harrier Emma Collins managed to demonstrate her star quality in Deganwy.

There was a fabulous turnout of Denbigh Harriers at the Deganwy Dash on Friday evening, with 11 green club vests among over 200 runners who lined up at the start.

The course followed the bank of the River Conwy, from Deganwy to the RSPB bird reserve and back, affording spectacular views of Conwy Castle and the Orme - at least for those with the time and breath to look!

Rain earlier in the afternoon saw to it that runners had plenty of puddles on the course to either negotiate or splash through, whichever was their want. The rain returned about midway through the race and it provided a cool refreshing shower that was appreciated by most runners.

At the finishing line, Philip Hayes was first Harrier home in 34.53, closely followed by Hywel Roberts (35.29).

However, the run of the evening must go to Emma Collins, who won the ladies' V55 in 36.04.

This performance not only saw her finish sixth lady overall, but it was also ahead of the all of the men in her age category, demonstrating why she is such a consistent North Wales champion.

The next Denbigh Harriers to finish were Tony Benton (36.09) and Duncan Jones (36.35), taking first and second in the male V55 category.

Not far behind them was Fred Jones (37.43), while a strong finish by Ian Jones (39.56) saw him dip across the line in just under 40 minutes.

Bob Neale came in at 40.33, followed by Sali Powell (42.00), Hannah McDonnell (44.34) and Paul Jones (45.42) to complete the Denbigh contingent.

By contrast, a small group of Harriers in the shape of Glen Price, Victoria Whitehead and Ceri Belshaw set out for what seemed like a good idea on the Welsh 1000m fell race.

This covered 20.9 miles, with a 9,232 feet climb.

Slightly apprehensive at the start, they set off from Abergwyngregyn to run up to the top of Aber Falls and then the dodgy river crossing to trudge across the bilberry bushes and tusocky grass to reach the Carneddau.

The low cloud made navigation very tricky.

Ceri, having tweaked her knee, retired at Ogwen.

Ticking the checkpoints off - Aryg, Carnedd Llywelyn, Carnedd Dafydd - and taking support from other runners, it was a shame the stunning scenery couldn’t be seen.

A lovely descent to Ogwen before the steep climb up Y Gribin was a real shock to the system after all the downhill running.

The scramble and rock climbing was very hairy in parts and the runners headed into the mist at the top of Glyder Fawr, before following a good line to descend to Pen y Pass.

With Glen and Victoria regularly feeling Ceri might have had the right idea, it was “just” Snowdon left.

The Pyg track felt endless and with one final last energy surge, both managed to drag themselves up to the summit of Carnedd Ugain before retracing their steps to shuffle to the summit of Snowdon.

Glen finished in six hours and 24 minutes, while Victoria completed the race in six hours and 49 minutes.

Although the race was over, the job of descending Snowdon was the last of the day and with extra layers and snacks carried up by Victoria's husband Jon, both made it back to Llanberis in one piece.

Rounding off the week for the Harriers and Sarah Bayliss competed at the Wepre Parkrun, coming home as the third lady in 27.12, just 12 seconds off her personal best.